Closure operator



W. ASBURY.

CLOSURE OPERATOR.

APPLICATION FILED 1uLY12. 91s.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

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ATTORNEY UNITED STATES,

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM ASBURY, OI NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR '10 STRAIGHT LINE REGULATOR CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

CLOSURE OPERATOR.

Application filed July 12,

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM AsBUnY, citizen of the United States, and resident of New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Closure Operators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to closure operators,

and the object of the invention is to provide a closure operator which is particularly adapted for the operation of window sash in motor vehicles and the like, the device being however, capable of use in other connections as will be apparent.

A further object is to provide a closure operator which is of simple and efficientdesign and which provides simple and practical means for preventing rattling of the parts. 1

A further object is to provide for easy disassembly of the window sash and the pperating means.

A further object is to provide simple and efiicient means for retaining the window sash in any position to which it may be manually moved.

A further object is to provide improved counter-balancing mechanism for the window sash.

A further object is to provide improved means for regulating the tension of the sash operating belt or chain employed.

Other objects andaims of the invention, more or less specific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principles, constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention:-

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device showing it combined within the body of a vehicle and the latters side removed,

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the device on line 2-2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is a plan view with several parts in section.

' The device is designed to lift or lower the Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

1918. Serial No. 244,649.

vwindow sash and 'to secure the same in its raised position or to release and lower the sash when desired.

The device is carried by a vertical frame piece -5 with an off-set 6 and flanges '7 by which it is secured to the frame 8 of the vehicle and comprises the large sprocket wheel 9 mounted on a hub piece 10 pivoted to the off-set 6 by means of the rivet 11 and adjustable by means of a screw 12 which passes through the arcuate slot 13 so that the wheel may be shifted to adjust the chain 14 or remove it.

The wheel 9 also carries by means of a stud 15 one end of a spiral spring 16 whose inner end is secured to the hub 10. This spring serves to counter-balance the weight of the sash as the sash is raised or lowered, it being connected to be wound during the lowering of the sash and to be unwound as the sash is being raised. I

The frame piece 5 carries at each end of the small sprockets 17 and 18 fittin loosely on rivets 19 and positioned to provi e a vertical lead as 40 of the chain 14. The wheel 17 has secured to it a gear wheel 20 meshing with and driven by a-pinion 21 whose shaft 22- is journaled in the frame piece 5 and carries at its other end the hub 23 of the handle 24, the latter being hinged to the hub and adapted to fold down so that its knob 25 fits within a cup 26 where it is held by the pressure of-the cups resilient sides.

The pinion when rotated by the handle 24 turns the wheel 20 and sprocket wheel 17 and advances the chain 14. in any desired direction, raising or lowering the sash until it is stopped by the chain link 41 engaging either of the stops 37 or 37.

Carried by the window. sash 27, at its lower edge, 1s a plate 33 having a substantially horizontally disposed slot 32 therein, said slot being open at one of its ends, as at 42. Carried by the chain, preferably by the link 41 thereof, is a connecting stud 28 arranged to project through the slot 32 and to play within said slot during the movement of the chain and to thereby raise and lower the window sash.

The off-set position of the sprocket wheel 9 provides a laterally extending lead 43 of the chain along which the stud 28 moves after having reached its highest position at the top of the sprocket wheel 17. As

'in Fig. 1 movement of the stud 28 to the right along the lead 43 will carry the stud outwardly through the open end 42 of the slot 32, thus entirely disen aging the plate 5 33 from said stud and ren erinv it possible to easily remove either the window sash or the operating mechanism without interfering; with each other.

he stop 37 is formed at the free end of an arm 44 which is pivotally connected, as at 45, to the frame piece 5. By moving this stop about its pivot so as to be out of the path of travel of the stop provided by the chain link 41, the stud 28 may be moved sufliciently far along the lead 43 to disengage from the slot 32. When, however, the stop 37 is in its normal position the movement of the stud 28 along the lead 43 is arrested before disengaging from the slot.

(In Fig. 3 of the drawings the arm 44, carrying the stop 37, is shown swung over about its pivot to a position opposlte its position in Fig. 1, this to avoid confusion in the lines of the drawing.)

During the normal ration of the device, therefore,-the stu 28 remains in the slot 32 and when said stud is in its uppermost position above the roller or sprocket 17, a lateral flange or stop ortion 46 of the :0 window sash is held presse against the under surface of an overhanging portion 47 of the vehicle frame. Usually a rubber or felt cushion is provided upon the under surface of the ortion 46 for providin a tight closure at t point when the window sash is elevated.

It is a particular feature of this invention to connect the plate 33 with the window sash upon a horizontal pivot 48 and to provide a spring element, as 34, associated therewith, usually arranged to surround the pivot pin 48, to at all times press one edge of the plate agalnst the operating chain while at the same time providing a resultant pressure against the window sash tending to move the window sash laterall away from the operating chain. Since, 0 course, the window sash is always mounted in suitable vertical guideways, as 49, and since'its lateral movement 50 away from the chain is thereby limited, the

. spring 34 is maintained tensioned and its pressure at all times serves to keep the window sash pressed against one. side of the ids and at the same time to press against t e operati chain. All rattling of the pgtis lts'there y avoided by this simple ex- The usual friction sprin as illustrated M30 in Fig. 2 may be emp oyed for further 60 maintaining the window sash under antirattlinlg tension if desired.

It s ould be noted that the method of construction here shown enables the actuator to be removed entirely from the pocket without disturbing panels, trimmings, etc., a very important feature. It should be noted also that it is not necessary to furnish building up blocks or supplementary supports in installing these frames, thus allowing the vehicle bodies to be built and finished before applying the actuator. In this form of actuator it should also be noted that it is not necessary to make right and left actuators, because the operating handle is in the centre of the door.

For convenience the handle may be offset as shown in dotted lines at 38 of Fig. 1, in which case there is also a subsidiary sprocket 39. In this form the apparatus is constructed with right and left parts. I

The substantially horizontal lead 43 of the chain is provided either by the utilization of the subsidiary sprocket 39 or by the off-set position of the sprocket wheel 9.

The utilization of the off-set sprocket wheel 9 is further important in that it provides an opportunity for making said sprocket wheel of a relatively very great diameter as compared with the diameter of the sprockets 17 and 18, thus providing for only a relatively slight rotation of said sprocket wheel 9 during the sliding movement of the window sash. The wear and tear upon the counter-balancing spring 16 is thereby greatly reduced and the efiiciency thereof correspondingly increased. At thesame time it provides an excellent medium by which to adjust the tension of the beltv or chain.

The pressure of the resilient sides of the cup 26 against the handle 25 when said handle is folded into said cup serves to prevent any rotation of the handle after manual operation thereof has ceased and the handle has been folded into the cup. The counter-balancing effect of the spring 16, coupled with the frictional resistance naturally offered by the belt or chain 14 to the several s rockets greatly increases the efficiency o the grip of the resilient walls of the cup against the handle 25 in this regard and makes any movement of the window sash, except such as is positively imparted thereto by manual movement of the operating handle, practically impossible when 115 the handle is in its folded position. 7

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from the scope of the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above de- 120 scription, or shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense.

\VhatI claim is: I

1. In a closure operating mechanism, the 126 combination with a slidable closure member and a guideway in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, and connections between the closure member and said operating 130 means including a resiliently operated part constructed normally to exert a pressure between the closure member and the guide-way.

2. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a suitable closure member and a guideway in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, connections between the closure member and said operating means including a resiliently operated part arranged to exert a pressure against the operating means and a resultant pressure against the closure member thereby to hold the closure member resiliently against one wall of said guideway, the operating means comprising a movable member, means to manually move said member, and a lug rigid with said member adapted to move therewith and being arranged to engage said resiliently operated part whereby to slide said closure member:

3. In a: closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member and a guideway in which said closure memher is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, connections between the closure member and said operating means including a part pivotally connected with the closure member, and means resiliently urging said pivotally, connected part against the operating means for producing a resultant pressure of the closure member against one wall of said guideway.

4. In a closure operating mechanism,'the

combination with a slidably mounted closure member, of operating means for said closure member comprising an endless chain, a air of sprocket wheels spaced apart over w ich said chain passes, means for moving said chain about said sprocket wheels, means carried by said chain and engaging the closure member for sliding the closure member as said chain moves, a further sprocket wheel over which said chain passes, counterbalancing means for the closure member associated with said last sprocket Wheel, and means also associated with said last sprocket wheel adjustable to alter the tension of said chain.

5. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidably mounted closure member, of operating means for said closure member, connections between the closure member and said operating means including a part carried by the closure member having a slot therein extending longitudinally transverse to the direction of sliding movement of said closure member, and a part carried by the operating means extending into said slot, the operating means comprising a sprocket Wheel, a chain movable over said roller having a lead extending away from said sprocket wheel arranged to travel longitudinally in substantially the same direction as the'direction of travel of the closure member and having another lead extending away from said sprocket wheel arranged to travel in a direction substantially transverse to the direction of travel of the closure member, a member ,carried by said chain and movable therewith projecting into said slot adapted when moving along by the chain adapted to be connected with a closure and being arranged to move along a lead of said belt extending from one of said sprocket wheels to another whereby to raise or lower the closure according to the direction of movement of the chain, the

third sprocket wheel being relatively larger than the other sprocket wheels, and counterbalancing means connected with said third sprocket wheel whereby to counter-balance the weight of the closure 7; In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a movable closure, an operating handle, connections between the operating handle and the closure to move the closure by movement of said handle, the operating handle being adapted to be folded from a non-collapsed to a collapsed condition, and a bearing support for the operating handle arranged to support said handle in cooperative relation with said mentioned connections, and said bearing support having a part comprising means to be frictionally engaged by the handle when collapsed to retain the handle against movement.

8. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure, a chain, sprocket wheels over which said belt passes, means for moving said chain, a part carried by the chain arranged to engage the closure member for sliding the closure member in response to the movements of the chain, stops for limiting the movement of the chain, and means whereby one of said stops is adapted to provide for an abnormal move ment of the chain.

9. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member and a guideway in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, and connections between the closure member and said operating means comprising a resiliently operated part arranged to exert a pressure against the operating means and a resultant pressure a ainst the closure member thereby to hold t e closure member resiliently against one wall of said guideway and to prevent rattling of the parts.

erating means including a part ivotally connected with the closure mem r,

means resiliently urging said pivotally connected part against the operatmg means for producln a resultant pressure of the closure mem r against one wall of said guideway, and the operating means comprising a manually movable part engaging sa1d pivotall connected part to slide sa1d closure mem er. v

11. In a ,closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member and a guideway in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member comprising an endless chain, a pair of sprockets over which said chain travels, means to move said chain, connections between the chain and the closure member whereby to move the closure member by movement of the chain, and said connections including a part resiliently operable to press in o posite directions against said chain and sai closuremember wherebg to prevent rattling between said chain an closure member and to hold the closure member pressed against one wall of its guideway.

12. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member and a guide way in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member comprising an endless chain, a pair of sprockets over which said chain travels, means to move said chain, and connections between the chain and the closure member whereby to move the closure member by movement of the chain,

said connections including a part pivotally connected with the closure member, means resiliently ur 'ng the pivotally connected part against e chain and roviding a resultant pressure of the cosure member against one wall of said giuideway, and means carried by the chain enga'gm said pivotally connected part to slide the c osure member.

13. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member and a guideway in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, comprismg an endless chain, a pairof sprockets over which said chain travels, means to move said chain, and connections between the chain and the closure member whereby to move the closure member by movement of the chain, said connections including a part pivotally connected with the closure member, means resiliently urging the pivotally connected part against the chain and providing a resultant pressure of the closure member ainst one wall of said guideway, said pivotally connected part having an open ended slot therein, and a stud carried by the chain engaging within said slot to slide the sash, together with means whereby said stud is adapted to move outwardly through the open endoof said slot to thereby disconnect said sash from said operating mechanism.

14. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidably mounted closure member, of operating means for said closure member comprising van endless chain, a pair of sprockets spaced apart over which said chain passes, means for moving said chain about said sprockets, a connecting member carried by one lead of the chain engaging the closure member for sliding the closure member as said lead of the chain moves to carry said connecting member toward either of said sprockets, stops for limiting movement of the chain in both directions, a further sprocket over which the other lead of the chain passes, and means associated with said last mentioned sprocket adjustable to alter the tension of said chain.

15. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidably mounted closure member, of operating means for said closure member comprising anendless chain, a pair of sprockets spaced apart over which said chain passes, means for moving said chain about said sprockets, a part carried by the closure member providing an open ended slot, a connecting member carried by said chain engaging within the slot so as to slide the closure member as said chain is operated to movesaid connecting member along one lead of said chain, and a. further sprocket over which the chain passes being arranged laterally from one of said other sprockets whereby to provide a lead of the chain disposed for moving said connecting member along the slot and outwardly through the 'open end thereof so as to be disconnected from said closure member.

16. In a closure operating mechanism, the combination with a slidable closure member, and a guide-way in which said closure member is slidably mounted, of operating means for said closure member, and connections between the closure member and said operating means including a resiliently operated part constructed normally to exert pressure between said connections for preventing rattling of said connections, said resiliently operated part being constructed also normally to exert pressure between the closure member and the guide-way for preventing rattling of the closure member within the guide-way.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of N. Y., this 3rd day of July, A. D. 1918.

' WILLIAM ASBURY. 

